


Climax

by insaneinlv



Series: Agent Mardex [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, More plot, Suspense, kinda short, more action, more suspected romance, we're not sure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-05-08 10:43:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14692545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/insaneinlv/pseuds/insaneinlv
Summary: Sophia and Loki have been living at Avengers tower for some time with no sign of said superheroes. Sophia is content to continue this comfortable way of life for however long needed, but Loki... well...Perhaps some things never change.Well, the Avengers may be conspicuously absent, but the Chitauri army decides that it's been a while since they visited Midgard...





	1. Well this is a shock...

Loki watched wide eyed as the world around him was torn apart by his doing. His army decimated buildings, spilled innocent blood, and all by his command.  
“See what you have done?” his brother cried, “But there is still a chance to change, brother!”  
“No.” Loki shook his head, defeated, “It is too late… it’s too late to stop it... to stop me…”  
‘What are you doing? Why do you play such childish games? Can you wipe out that much red? Your ledger is dripping, its GUSHING red, and you think that playing games with a mere child, no more virtuous than yourself will change anything? This is the basest sentimentality! This is a child at prayer! PATHETIC! You pretend to care for her; you pretend that you deserve her trust. You pretend to be separate, to have your own code, something that makes up for the horrors. But they are a part of you, and they will NEVER go away. Nothing you do will change that. She will die. and die at your hand. You will kill her slowly, intimately, in every way you know she fears. There is no going back. You are what you are, and nothing can change that.”  
Loki jerked awake, finally able to wrench himself from the nightmare. His shoulders shook, his chest heaved, and sweat coated his face and neck. He lay back down and closed his eyes, trying to forget the horrors, but the voice still echoed in his ears,  
‘You are what you are.  
Your ledger is dripping, it’s GUSHING red.  
Nothing will change that.  
They are a part of you, and they will NEVER go away.’  
He sat up again, realizing that he would sleep no more this night. It was five AM. His eyes scanned the darkened room and fell on the garments he wore when he came to earth. An idea sparked in his mind.  
“No.” he said firmly and stood, beginning to pace in the room. He looked out the window. Far below, cars and people traveled to and fro. New York city: the city that doesn’t sleep. Loki swallowed and looked back to his armor.  
“I have no right to…”  
‘You have the only right. Why should you not rule them?’  
“I would be betraying Sophia’s trust…”  
‘You’ve already done that.’  
Loki swallowed and covered his ears, but the voice didn’t stop.  
“Jarvis is ever watching, I would not be able to…”  
‘Sophia is a foolish girl.  
She trusts you too much.  
She set Jarvis into peaceful mode before entering her chambers.  
You know this.  
You are making excuses.  
Finish the job.’  
Loki knew what he had to do. There was no escaping what he was.

At sixAM, Sophia woke to what she thought to be laughter, but it was gone as soon as it started, and in her half-asleep state, her senses were dulled. Knowing that she wouldn’t get to sleep again, she groggily got dressed and exited her room. She was surprised to see Loki up already, he usually liked to sleep in as late as he could. Perhaps he had another nightmare. But then… why was he wearing his Asgardian armor? Sometimes, when they stayed home all day, Loki wore the clothes he brought from his home, but he never wore such ostentatious, gold armor, or his cape.  
“Loki? What’s going on?” she approached him, and he jumped, apparently not expecting her.  
“I, uh, was unable to sleep.” Well. Not an outright lie.  
“Then what’s with the armor?” she seemed genuinely confused, not suspicious. It made Loki’s heart heavy that even when he was in the act of betraying her, she still had such faith in him.  
“Homesick.” He said. She shook her head, beginning to get frustrated,  
“Ya know, for a god of mischief, you’re a pretty lousy liar. What’s wrong, Loki?”  
“Why must you meddle with my affairs? They are unimportant.” He turned back to the computer.  
“It’s kind of my job to ‘meddle with your affairs’ and why are you being so secretive? You were never like this before.” She peered over his shoulder.  
“Wait, wait, you, wait…” she could not believe what she saw, “Are you stealing?!” she squeaked in indignation.  
Loki laughed, “Apparently not.”  
“Loki! You know that these files are off limits! Not even I can see them! The codes to the nuclear armory of S.H.I.E.L.D.? How could you! I trusted you!” she turned off the computer and pulled out her phone. Before Loki could stop her, she had called Vanessa to the scene.  
“Jarvis! Why didn’t you stop him?” she cried out.  
“Darling, you put Jarvis on peaceful mode before going to bed. The only one you have to blame is yourself.” Loki purred, rising from the computer. He had gotten what he wanted, despite Sophia’s actions.  
“And what about you! I trusted you, Loki! I defended you, I gave you a second chance, and you repay me by threatening to destroy the world I love!”  
“Do you love it? Do you? Do you claim to protect it? You slaughter others in droves while claiming to love it! Mere child, you lie and kill in the service of liars and killers! I mean to rule them! I mean to bring peace to the world, to end suffering, end war! Is that not what you desire?” Loki’s monologue was losing control.  
“My best friend once thought like that. ‘I see a suit around the world.’ He said. That suit around the world almost destroyed the world it was built to protect. That taught me that there will always be suffering in the world. If there isn’t, there’s something wrong. That taught me that even the best intentions, if gone about in the wrong way, can and will lead to disaster, sometimes on a global scale, and trust me, Loki, this is a global scale. You gods demand nothing less.” She stated grimly. Loki grinned,  
“You admit my intentions are good!” he spread out his arms, “Then help me accomplish them in what you would consider the right way.”  
“Here’s what you need to do: STOP. Stop before someone gets hurt! Please, just stop this! Stand down! Things can still go back to the way they were, with you and Thor, with you and the world, with you and me.” Loki almost laughed when he noticed that her eyes were filling with tears.  
“Too late.” He said softly. He saw her shake and take a step back,  
“Loki… Don’t, please don’t…”  
He started to walk toward her, fire burning in his eyes. Sophia turned and bolted to the balcony, pushing aside the images of Loki, running through them like the air she knew they were. She arrived just in time to see her suit land and open up for her to step into. She scrambled into the suit just in time for a knife to whip past her ear. Breathing heavily, she used her hand to deflect two more knives sent her way by Loki.  
“What was the point, Loki!?” She cried, “You KNEW you’d fail. You are barely armed, I have a suit, and all I have to do is call up Nick, and SHIELD will be on their way. Tell me, how can I possibly lose?!”  
Loki smiled, “Your heart. You can’t kill me! You lack the courage. How did the son of Coul put it? You lack conviction.”  
At the mention of Coulson, Sophia cried out and charged at Loki, phasing right through him. Loki looked at her from another corner of the room, clearly disappointed in her.  
“Will you ever not fall for that?” he asked.  
Holding up her arm, she sent a blast at Loki. Loki laughed as he dodged the shot. Sophia growled in frustration and shot at him again, which Loki easily dodged again.  
Sophia sighed,  
“Y’know, ya say that I can’t kill you cause I don’t have the heart. But I’d find it hard to believe that you’d kill me either.”  
“Really?” Loki charged her, stabbing a knife into the center of her suit. The glass around her arc-reactor cracked a bit, but no damage was done. She grabbed Loki by his arm.  
“Fool. Did you really think that Tony was stupid enough to expose the power source of this whole thing? That isn’t your ordinary glass, Loki. And now I have you.”  
Loki grinned.  
“If you’re threatening the axe, by all means, swing it! I’d like to see if you could do what the green one did to me. So go ahead. Throw me to the ground. Try to shatter my bones and break my spine. Try to knock the life out of me, leaving me groaning on the ground, bloodied and bruised by your hand. Do it. Prove your power over me.”  
“SHUT UP!” She screamed and slammed him into the wall. He laughed,  
“This is what you signed up to do, love. You said that you had the strength to kill me, and now when the time comes, when I have betrayed all love and trust you gave me, you still can’t bring yourself to hurt me. Pathetic creature. You love too much, care too much, and it will only break your heart. Over and over again.”  
“I SAID SHUT UP!” She shot a large pulse at the elevator. She ran to the open door and jumped down, using her rockets to increase velocity. Loki couldn’t process what was happening. She really did it; she was trying to kill him. He smiled. He laughed. He laughed hysterically. He didn’t think she’d do it.  
Sophia fought back tears. She didn’t think she’d do it either. But here she was, trying to kill her best friend.  
‘Why am I doing this?’ she thought. But just as she was going to fly back upwards, if she could do it…  
They crashed into the ground.  
When the dust settled, Sophia was finally able to move. She was still holding Loki firmly by his vest. She didn’t speak. She let go of him and stood, horror leaving her speechless and paralyzed.  
“No…” She whispered, “No, no, no, NO, NO!” she clambered out of the suit and stumbled towards Loki, tripping over the rubble. She roughly shook him by the shoulders.  
“Loki!” She sobbed, “Wake up, oh no, oh gosh, Dear Odin what have I done!” she lowered her head to his mouth, listening for any life. But no hot breath fanned over her cheek, no small cry met her ear. She placed her hands on his chest and pressed all her weight into him in small bursts, giving him CPR, for whatever good it would do. When she was convinced that she had done all she could, she fell back on the cement, hugging her knees to her chest. She tried to not cry, she tried to think of anything else she could do, a sob escaping her throat every once in a while.  
She crawled back towards him and laid her head on his chest, listening for a heartbeat. She cried with relief when she heard a faint thumping deep within him. She hid her face in her crossed arms and cried. He was alive, but he wasn’t breathing. She lifted her head and tried to give him CPR again. But right before she began, Loki’s eyes shot open and he began breathing heavily.  
“Sophia!” he gasped. He grasped her arm with one of his hands, sliding it down until he held her wrist, then her hand. His eyes were wild with fear as he earnestly tried to talk,  
“Sophia! I’m- I’m so sorry.” He choked and focused on breathing again, “So sorry… I can’t say anything… nothing can… but I’m- I’m sorry.”  
Sophia cried quietly while listening to him.  
“Shh… hey, I’m here, you’re ok.” She tried to keep her voice level, but she could hear it shake. She sighed and pulled his hand to her mouth. She didn’t kiss him, just kind of pressed her lips to his knuckles. She let her hand fall from her face, but held his hand to her heart. She bent down and let her forehead fall gently against his. Bringing her other hand up to his neck, she held his head above the hard cement.  
“Do… do you wanna know how you can make it up to me?” she asked. He peered up at her, fear still in his eyes. He looked like he might cry. Sophia swallowed and stifled a sob,  
“Don’t die, ok? Cause if you die…” She tried to not sob, but failed, “I’ll kill you!” she said through tears. At seeing her cry, all fear left Loki. He smiled gently on her and ran his fingers through her tangled hair.  
“I promise nothing, mortal.” He whispered, “precious, precious mortal who deserves so much better than I am, who is worthy of so much more than I am able to give…” he let his hand fall to the ground, “never doubt that I loved you.” he breathed. He let his head fall backward and closed his eyes. His ragged breathing became steady. Sophia swallowed thickly,  
“I love you too. But betrayal is betrayal. I’m gonna have to do something with you. For now, stay here.” She climbed into her suit and looked on him gently, trying not to cry.  
“You betrayed me. I almost killed you. Are we even?” she asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to make Loki’s motivation very clear here. I tried to follow the Dark World pattern for Loki’s character arc, as in he’s playing the role that the world has assigned him: the villain. I think that his monologue to Nat in the first Avengers is very revealing about what Loki is ACTUALLY thinking, but he sees no point in fighting what the world sees him as. He probably could have been a bit more careful about the execution of his plan, or maybe he did have a plan we can’t see…  
> or maybe I'm just a lazy writer. (Hint: yes)


	2. Conscience

In the skies she wrestled with herself about what she had done.  
“I should take him to the hospital. But they’d probably be more inclined to kill him rather than save him. No. His presence must remain as hidden as possible. Besides. What good would they be able to do? He is an entirely other species. How would they know how to help him?”  
She landed in front of a coffee shop she liked to go to when she needed to think. It was quiet, and people usually left her alone there. It had good music and good coffee. Landing her suit in a parking space, she locked it and entered the shop. She ordered her usual mocha and slid into a booth. What could she do with Loki? What could she do to restrain or trap him? How could she keep this from happening again? Through her phone, she told Jarvis to keep an eye on him. She couldn’t see him using cameras, but Jarvis could sense his thermal signature, heartbeat, and breath rate. All were normal. She kept her eyes on his steady heartbeat.  
“Hi there!” a girl with bright blue eyes, blonde hair pulled back with a red bandanna, a red shirt with a black jacket, and kakis greeted her. Sophia pretended to not hear her.  
“You’re that Mardex gal arent’cha?” another girl, this one with black hair, blue shirt and jeans, asked. Now unable to avoid interaction, Sophia feigned confusion,  
“What? Who?”  
“Don’t do that, we know it’s you. You come here all the time. It was only with the recent news reports that we realized it was you.” A third girl with dark skin and brown hair spoke up. This one had a lime tank top, grey leggings and a black leather short skirt.  
“I was on the news?” She asked.  
“Yeah!” The first one sat next to her and the other two sat in front of her. Sophia felt uncomfortable and involuntarily wished Loki was there.  
“You and Loki were seen shopping around town. It was sure something. Everyone went crazy.” The brown haired girl said.  
“huh.” so that’s how everyone seemed to know exactly where she and the demi-god were.  
“Including us.” The black haired girl giggled. Sophia tried to not make a face.  
“Oh yeah.” The girl next to her began talking again, “I mean Loki, Loki! Was here! We couldn’t miss a chance to see him in person.” She cleared her throat, “Speaking of the puny god…” she laughed at her own joke, “Where is he?”  
“How would I know?” Sophia asked. The girl nodded to her phone,  
“That app would say you did.”  
Sophia quickly turned off her phone and glared at the girl fiercely. She only laughed,  
“Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.” they all laughed. Sophia should’ve laughed with them. She should’ve applied everything Natasha had taught her, but the recent catharsis she had gone through left her defenseless.  
“So…” The black haired girl looked at her cup of coffee, “Are you two… close?” she looked up, smirking.  
“What do you mean?” Sophia asked.  
“You know what I mean.” The girl took a drink.  
“Do you know what a lot of girls would pay for the opportunity you have?” The brown haired one leaned in.  
“They’d be disappointed.” Sophia looked out the window, sipping her mocha.  
“How?” the blonde one asked.  
“Whaddya mean?” Sophia responded.  
“How could they be disappointed? He’s as beautiful as ever! Well. From what we saw in the news.”  
Sophia choked, “… what did you call him?”  
“uhh beautiful? Gorgeous? Hot? C’mon, you can’t say he’s not!” the brown haired girl asked.  
“You need to stop that.” Sophia growled, feeling a lot like Bruce Banner.  
“Ahh, I get It.” the blonde one winked, “Territorial are we?”  
Sophia spilled her coffee she stood up so fast,  
“Say that again!” She dared her.  
“Woah, calm down, girl!” The black haired one said gently, “We understand, but you can’t expect us to not think he’s beautiful.”  
“But he’s evil!” Sophia hissed.  
“So what?” the brown haired one said, “He’s not very smart, evil, cares only about himself, but I think we’d all love to be ruled by him.” she giggled.  
“Shut up!” Sophia cried, “You don’t know what you’re talking about! He’s not my boyfriend! He’s brilliant, sweet, tells great stories, treats me as his equal and… and…” She realized that she had just gone from calling Loki evil to calling him sweet. She snarled and pushed past the blonde girl. She stormed to the door but was stopped by someone that put their hand on her shoulder. She threw them off,  
“Back off, jerk.”  
But they grabbed her arm firmly, and she heard Rhodey’s gentle but firm voice,  
“How about you calm down, and I get you a latte.”  
“… mocha.”  
“Deal.”

After she and Rhodey had new drinks, they sat at a table for two so they wouldn’t be disturbed.  
“So, Loki betrayed you by using Stark’s computer to find out where Shield was keeping its atomic weapons.” Rhodey said. Sophia was silent.  
“And then you, enraged, beat him up and threw him down the elevator shaft, almost killing him.”  
“…”  
“And where is he now?” He asked. Sophia showed him her phone.  
“Still down the elevator shaft.” He answered his own question.  
“So you trusted Loki: God of Mischief, the guy that tried to take over the world and killed eighty people in two days and now you’re hurt that he betrayed you.”  
“Rhodes, the Avengers are all about redemption. Tony was a jerk. He went through a traumatic experience and became a changed man. Steve was a jerk. He went through a traumatic experience and became a changed man. Natasha was an assassin. She went through a traumatic experience with Hawkeye and became a changed woman. I was a jerk. Went through a traumatic experience with Natasha and became a changed girl. Thor was a jerk. Was stripped of his powers and tossed onto earth. He came out a changed man. I thought that…” She trailed off.  
“You thought that the same thing had happened with Loki. He was a jerk. But being beat by a handful of mortals, and then by a very large one, would cause him to see the error of his ways, and become a changed man.” Rhodey finished her sentence.  
“Is my hope ill founded?” she asked.  
“Boy, now you’re starting to talk like him.” he mused. Sophia rolled her eyes.  
“No, you weren’t wrong to hope. But it’s a general rule in Shield to hope for the best but expect the worst. It’s a good rule for anything in life.” he said, shrugging. They were silent for a while.  
“Y’know?” Rhodey said after a while, “I also have a sassy dark haired friend that has an ego problem.”  
“Tony and Loki are nothing alike.” Sophia shook her head.  
“Maybe. But they do have quite a bit in common.” He continued, “One time, when the government was forcing Tony to give up his suits, I stood up for him, like a friend should. I asked him to lay low and let the incident blow over. But it was his birthday, so do you know what he did? He threw a wild party in which he got hopelessly drunk. He was wearing the suit and blowing stuff up with it. I was livid. So, after Pepper’s attempts to end the party failed, I took things into my own hands. I took one of the suits and MADE everyone leave. Well that made Tony mad. We got in a huge fight that pretty much leveled his home. But when it came down to it, when it came down to my life, his life, and the lives of many other innocent people, we were able to work together. We made up and were friends again.  
I know that Loki was a jerk to you. He was a jerk to all of us, and you were still adamant on his innocence. Speaking of, has he confirmed that theory of yours?” He leaned back, crossing his arms. Sophia said nothing, looking pointedly at the ground.  
“Oh.” Rhodey nodded, “You haven’t talked about it.”  
“We have.” She said.  
“And?”  
“He hasn’t confirmed it. But he hasn’t denied it either.”  
Rhodey nodded, “Well, in any case, if you’re really his friend, you’ll find it in your heart to forgive him.”  
Sophia was about say something, when she was interrupted by an explosion outside.  
“Please tell me you didn’t hear that.” Rhodey sighed. Sophia got up and ran out of the shop. There was a large portal in the sky and multitudes of Chitari were pouring out of it.  
“Oh crap.” Rhodey breathed.  
“Odin help us…” Sophia stared at the hole. She and Rhodey looked at each other.  
“Put on the suit.” She said. Rhodey nodded and they charged to their suits. As soon as Jarvis was up and running, Sophia contacted Wanda, Vision, and Sam.  
“Avengers generation two, Assemble!  
Jarvis, how’s Loki lookin’?”  
“He still has not come to, miss. Even if he does, I don’t know if he will have the ability to leave the elevator shaft.”  
“Well deactivate the elevator. He’ll find a way out.” she flew off to join Rhodey, who was giving directions on who should do what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You will never, and I mean NEVER guess who I modeled the three fangirls after.  
> Anyway, I was gonna put more stuff here, but I forgot what I was going to say. So. There's that.


	3. Not what I had in mind when I said "Hands on"

Loki sat up slowly, grasping onto any solid ground his hands could find. Groaning, he rubbed his head. He rested his arm on his knee as he surveyed his surroundings.  
Oh right. The elevator shaft. She had pushed him down the elevator shaft, and then charged after him. He hazily remembered talking with her. About what he couldn’t remember. He hoped he apologized. He hoped that he told her he loved her. He hoped she believed him. Grunting, he rose. He stumbled a bit, as he walked to the wall to support himself. He looked around, searching for a way out. Then it occurred to him that maybe he wasn’t MEANT to get out. He slid down the wall and crossed his arms over his knees, resting his head on them. A headache was splitting his skull open, it seemed like. He jumped to his feet when he heard an explosion.  
“Sophia!” he cried up the shaft, knowing his voice would probably be lost in the battle. Still, he called again, “Sophia!” After hearing nothing but silence, he frantically looked around him for a way to get up. It wasn’t far to climb to the first floor, and hopefully the elevator was still working. It was above them when they fell. Of course, he would have to open the doors by hand, and he wasn’t sure how he was going to do that. He was strong, but even he had limits. He climbed up anyway, to see if he could open it by force. Much to his surprise, the doors opened of their own accord when he reached their level.  
“Good afternoon, sir.” Jarvis spoke, and then Loki understood. He knew that Sophia had left to fight whatever needed to be fought, and he knew that Jarvis watched him constantly.  
“Jarvis, where is Sophia?” he asked while calling the elevator.  
“She is no longer in the building. She is in the minibuster currently.”  
“Yes, I understand that much, but WHERE is she? Where can I find her?”  
Jarvis began to name a street and address, but Loki couldn’t make heads or tails of it. He moved on, to the fact that he had no weapon.  
“Jarvis, I need a weapon. Where might I find something?” he asked.  
“I am not allowed to equip you unless instructed by Agent Mardex, or another member of the Avengers. Quite frankly, your access to the Avenger’s tower is almost null.”  
Loki wanted to be mad, he really did, but he couldn’t exactly blame the mortals for fearing him.  
“If Sophia has her suit on, would I be able to contact her?” he asked.  
“Yes. Shall I do so?”  
“Yes.” Loki nodded.  
…  
“On your above!” Sam called to Sophia. She ducked and let him fly over her, cutting down the Chitauri that were surrounding her. Tony had trained her to fight with the suit, but only at one being at a time. There hadn’t been time enough to teach her to use the suit to fight multiple enemies at once, so she was having trouble keeping up. That, and the fact that Natasha had trained her for very different combat.  
“Sophia! Get out of there!” Rhodey said over their radios. She growled in frustration, but complied, taking to the skies. She hovered next to him as she tried to use her repulsers to take out the remaining Chitauri.  
“No, Soph, there are too many.” Rhodey said. He raised his arm and shot a small missile into the mob of soldiers. There was a large explosion, and most of the Chitauri fell.  
“I’ll take care of the rest of these. The entrance to that office building is blocked, and the elevator isn’t working. Go and get those people out of there.” He said, shooting the few chitauri that survived the explosion.  
“Yes, sir.” Sophia saluted and flew to the building. Once she was on the ground, she rammed her shoulder into the door. There were many people in the lobby, huddled together, scared. Sophia swallowed,  
“Rhodes, where do I take these guys?” she asked.  
“There are police officers down the street. What are you waiting for? I’ll cover you, get them out.”  
Sophia nodded, “right, right, I’m… I’m on it.” She activated her rockets and hovered over the crowd,  
“Alright, listen, I need you guys to get out of here and go down the street. I’ll lead you guys and protect you, alright? Follow me.” She landed again and walked out of the building. She shot at the Chitauri, only thinking briefly that shooting something with her actual hand was a bit strange. She trusted Rhodey to protect the stream of people that were coming out behind her. The walk wasn’t far, however, and all of the people made it safely.  
“Nice job, Sophia, but there are still people in the building, on other floors. And, um, you know that missile I shot?” Rhodey said sheepishly.  
“Yeah?… what about it?” Sophia asked, flying back to the building.  
“The, uh, the explosion made the building even more unstable, and the people are in immediate danger.”  
“I got it.” She flew up to another floor and smashed the window, gingerly flying in and landing.  
“Ok…” She said to the dark, “What to do… Hey, Jarvis, scan the building for its weakest points. Actually, no, no, scan for lifeforms. That’s more important.”  
“Miss, I CAN do both.” He said.  
“Why didn’t I know that?” She asked jokingly, “Alright, go for it.” Infrared heat signatures showed up on her visual, along with red and blue pillars of where the building’s core supports were. Many were red.  
“Ok, I think first we should get the people in the elevator out.”  
She proceeded to escort all of the people out of the building and to the police officers down the street safely. It was difficult, and many times the building began its collapse, and Sophia had to use her own strength, and the strength of the suit, to get everyone to safety. Wanda jumped in part way through, using her telekinesis to bring down the elevator safely. It was incredibly strenuous, and she was all but spent for the few minutes afterward. In the last few minutes the building had to stand, Sophia realized that Wanda was still in the building.  
“Jarvis! Where’s Wanda!”  
“She is on the tenth floor.” Wanda’s heat signature showed up on Sophia’s visual.  
“Miss, the building’s collapse is imminent, and Agent Maximoff seems to be unconscious.” He said.  
“No, no.” she whispered to herself briefly before charging into the building, shattering a window in doing so. The sound jerked Wanda to her senses. Sophia saw right away what knocked Wanda out. She was partially trapped under rubble. Apparently, the building had already begun its collapse. Sophia didn’t need to say anything to her. She lifted the large piece of cement that trapped Wanda, and she knew to pull her feet out from underneath. Sophia scooped her up and shot out the building in a way that reminded Wanda of her brother. It was then that Loki called her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why are the Chitauri attacking, I wonder…


	4. Dreams come true

“Sophia? Where are you!?” Loki demanded.  
“Loki?” Sophia was really not expecting to hear from him, “I’m kind of in the middle of something right now!”  
“Well, fine. I’ll find you, but were might I find a weapon? A dagger, something!” He implored.  
“Fine. Jarvis, get him two knives and a pistol.” She said hurriedly as she deposited Wanda on the ground, checking her vitals to make sure she was ok.  
“How do I find you.” he asked as he took the weapons and the headset Jarvis gave him.  
“Did you get the headset?” she asked, turning to blast more Chitauri.  
“Yes.” He said, putting the small device in his ear.  
“Good. Here’s what you need to do…” She listed off the directions he needed to go in order to find her.  
“Rhodes, Loki’s on his way.” She called once she was done, and Loki had started off.  
“Oh no. No! No! Not happening, Mardex!” he said, scared.  
“Look, he’ll stay by my side, we’ll just keep the chituari contained, limit the destruction, ya know? Oh come ON Rhodes, we need all the help we can get.”  
“Why do you think we’re here?” a voice interrupted her. It was weird, it almost sounded like Tony, but he was worlds away. Right?  
Suddenly, something red and gold shot past Sophia, shooting down all the Chitauri closest to her.  
“Miss me, shortstop?” Tony asked.  
“Tony! You guys are back!” she ducked as the Hulk flew over her. Natasha and Clint ran up alongside her. Cap didn’t hesitate. He flung his shield at the oncoming aliens. He nodded at Sophia and knelt, once his shield came back to him. Sophia became giddy when he did that. Making sure the angle was right, she fired an continuous blast at the shield. Steve slowly turned it, reflecting the blast to many Chitauri.  
“Ohmygosh that was awesome!” Sophia breathed. The Avengers tore off into the streets, causing mass destruction to the alien race. Natasha shot the ones on the left, Hawkeye the ones on the right, and Cap cleared off any they missed. Sophia was about to charge after them, maybe take off to the skies, but Thor landed next to her, grasping her arm firmly, but gently,  
“Where is Loki.” He demanded.  
“He’s on his way. Oh gosh, I hope he didn’t get lost!” She shot off.  
“Loki! Where are you?” she was met with only static.  
“Oh dear Odin, not this time, not now! Loki! Can you hear me!” Nothing.  
She took off to the skies and frantically searched the streets for a flash of gold, or a green cape, or something! There. In the alleyway, she saw him as he fought back an onslaught of chitauri. There were so many… How did the Avengers miss them? She landed next to Loki and began fighting alongside him.  
“Why didn’t you respond to me?” She asked.  
“Why didn’t you stay with the Avengers?” He returned, seemingly irritated.  
“I was afraid you had gotten lost…” she sheepishly said. Loki shook his head as he grabbed a Chitauri by the throat and brought it close to him, stabbing it in the side as he did, then tossing it to the side and grabbing his gun. He carefully shot two or three aliens down and put it back in his belt, preferring his knives.  
“I was on my way, when I noticed a horde of Chitauri down here. I came to investigate and the device was knocked out of my ear.”  
“Well, we won’t be able to hold them here for long, and we still have to find out where they are coming from.” She said, blasting a chitauri that had managed to slip past them. The bodies were building up. They had killed so many… where were they all coming from? Loki seemed pensive.  
“We’ll have to be fast… I can conceal us for a brief time, but we will need to be quick. If we follow the chitauri, we will find a portal, I suspect, but if you do, do not go through it. You are mortal, and will not survive there. You must fly far away. I will go to the other side and find a way to close it. They must have some great relic powering both portals…” the last sentence was low, as if spoken to himself. Sophia looked over her shoulder, she wasn’t sure why.  
“Do it.” she began to fly, keeping low to the ground so Loki could climb on. He stepped onto her foot and hooked an arm around her waist to keep himself upright. With a snap of his fingers, they were invisible. The only way you could’ve known they were there, is if you heard the roar of the rockets, or felt their heat. Sophia quickly but smoothly flew to the end of the alley. There was, indeed, a small portal near the bottom of one of the buildings. It was only about as tall as one person, wide enough to admit three people at once.  
Before Sophia could stop him, Loki let go of her and slid into the army. Making quick work of the chitauri surrounding him, he cried up to her,  
“Hold back the chitauri as best as you can. Wait for me in the streets, and whatever you do, DON’T DIE!” and without another word, he disappeared into the portal.  
Sophia was dumbfounded. She was alone, and she had to hold back the entire army on her own… She had half a mind to charge into the portal with him, but she remembered what happened to Tony when he did that, and turned around, deciding to comply to Loki’s orders.  
She had her work cut out for her. The chitauri had flooded the streets, and she knew she would never chop them all down on her own.  
“Hey, Nat, got a minute? Loki and I found another portal in an alleyway. There’s a whole other army. Completely on foot, but no less destructive. Loki went in the portal to try to close it from the other side, but I can’t hold them all off on my own.” She called the Avengers as she flew over the army.  
One of the chitauri grabbed her foot, and she chided herself for not flying higher.  
“Miss, stability of the left thruster is depreciating quickly.” A diagram of the suit was displayed, and she saw her left foot flashing red. She put all power to the other thrusters, but she only dragged the chitauri with her as she rose. As soon as she left the ground, she spun around and fired at the chitauri, knocking him off of her. Still. Her left thruster was barely working to keep her off the ground, and it kept cutting out and coming back on. She didn’t realize how close to the ground she was getting…


	5. Old friends

As soon as Loki passed through the portal, everything changed. Everything was dark, everything was hazy. He pushed through the army anyway, not lifting his concealment, yet knowing all the same that his presence would not go unnoticed. That was when he saw it. The tesseract. It was on a pedestal, providing the power for the portal.  
Loki’s head spun. If they had the tesseract, then why were they going back to earth… unless-  
Vision! The realization hit him like Jane’s van as he connected all the pieces. The gem on the Vision’s head, it was the mind stone! How did he not see it? They had purposefully withheld the information from him, and they were wise to do so. But he now had to close the portal, and somehow get back to earth. But if he had the Tesseract, maybe he could find a way…  
“The prodigal son returnss to ussss…”  
Loki knew that voice. He swallowed, and threw an illusion of himself far away, in front of the mouth of Thanos.  
“I return not to the true all-father, but simply to the stone.” His illusion smiled sarcastically and bowed.  
“What are you saying!” the chitauri was enraged, “You would continue to question him? Even when you had been given power by him, and fail to succeed?! You who claimed that the humans would submit without a fight?”  
“I assure you, Midgard is ready to fall. It needs a ruler, one to give it order in the midst of chaos. But I came not to ask for another chance, I have come to right my mistake.”  
Well. That much was true.  
“What do you propose?”  
“I know where the mind stone is. You can sense its power, but you do not know its exact location, yes?”  
The chitauri’s silence confirmed Loki’s suspicion.  
“Don’t kill me just yet. Let me go back to Midgard, and I will deliver the mind stone to you.”  
Loki was beginning to form a plan. He rose up and traded places with his illusion. It went unnoticed by the chitauri.  
“And I suppose in return, you want me to give you the tesseract.” he asked.  
Loki laughed, “Oh, no, by all means, keep the tesseract!”  
“Then why would you do this? I cannot believe that you would do this out of the goodness of your heart?” The chitauri sneered.  
Loki hesitated, “Heavens, no. The only thing I ask for is this: Asgard’s demise. Make them burn. Make them suffer because of me.”  
The chitauri nodded, “Go.”  
Loki turned and stopped at the tesseract. His heart was racing. He reached out and touched the cube. To the chitauri, it seemed that he merely touched it, then grinned evilly back at him, but moved on without taking the stone. In reality, Loki had taken the tesseract, and used an illusion to make it seem that it was still on the pedestal, providing power for the portal.  
Loki held the tesseract, and was able to channel its raw power to keep the portal open. It was incredibly strenuous, but he was DOING IT. He had no idea he was this powerful. It takes a truly powerful being to wield an infinity stone, and the power flowing through his veins was lurching, writhing, threatening to take over his body, perhaps destroy him. But he kept it in check. As soon as he passed through the portal, it collapsed. The chitauri was outraged. He swore to find Loki. To find him and make him pay. To make him long not only for pain, but for death, for darkness, for air. But he would not kill him, no. Killing was too good for that treacherous giant.  
…  
Sophia was running through the alleyway. With one thruster, she was not able to gain altitude quick enough, and she was grounded once again by the mass of chitauri. Now she only had her repulsers on her hands, and her boots sparked and sputtered with the recent strain on them.  
It occurred to Sophia that this was exactly what she had dreamed about. She thought it was of her past, but it was really of her future. She was running for her life, from the chitauri, and was trying desperately to get to Loki, if he kept his promise and met her in the streets.  
She burst out into the open and began to defend herself as best as she could. She wished the suit were either at full power, or nonexistent. She wasn’t as agile with the armor. But she continued to fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of the logistics of whether or not the Tesseract counts as an infinity stone, and whether Loki has the power to wield one is in heated debate. But Loki doesn’t know any better. MAYBE the Tesseract doesn’t count as an infinity stone, and MAYBE (likely) he can’t wield an infinity stone, and MAYBE he can’t control the Tesseract, but he wasn’t really controlling the tesseract so much as sustaining it? Channeling it? He was just keeping the portal open so he could get back to earth, not USING the power? I don’t know. Don’t question.


	6. Teamwork makes the... wait, what?

When Loki came through the portal, and it collapsed behind him, he was instantly drained. He tried to decrease the power the tesseract was giving off, and succeeded, almost to his surprise. The cube glowed softly now, not beaming brightly like it had been when powering the portal. He tucked it in his vest in those pockets on the inside that seem to defy physics, and using an illusion, he slipped past the army unnoticed. It was easy to find Sophia, as her suit made a lot of noise when in battle.  
He became scared when he saw how much she was struggling. Grasping his dagger, he leaped in front of her. She turned around, so that they were fighting back to back. He grabbed the chitauri soldier closest to her and drove the knife deep into its neck. He cast it to the side and lunged sideways, grabbing another that had tried to stab him. He killed it in the same way he killed the other.  
“Why aren’t you flying?” he asked, panicked, “Fly! Go!”  
“I can’t!” she cried, “My suit’s been broken.” As she spoke, another warrior drove a knife into her shoulder. She cried out briefly, but reached behind her, grabbed it, and slammed it to the ground in front of her. She killed it with the knife it stuck in her. She tossed the knife to Loki, who promptly threw it at another Chitauri that was getting too close to Sophia.  
“Did you close the portal?” she asked while attempting to unjam her suit with her wrist.  
“Yes. Can you contact Vision? They were after him. That was the reason they came here. That was the reason the Avengers needed to go to Asgard in the first place. Odin, or Heimdal, or Thor, or someone suspected that Thanos was going to try to take back the Tesseract while Asgard was weakened by I and Thor’s recent skirmish on earth. So, they called the Avengers to help protect it, or perhaps to hit them first, I know not. They failed, however, and the Chitauri had the Tesseract once again. In an attempt to get the mind stone next, they used the Tesseract to create two portals to earth, hoping one would go unnoticed. Someone would kill the Vision and bring the mind stone back.”  
Sophia was silent for a while, “And you figured all this out just now? A few minutes ago, you didn’t even know that mind stone was on earth!”  
Loki only laughed in response, “Well?”  
“Hey, Tony, where’s Vis?” she asked.  
“He’s watching over Wanda. Why? Where are you, shortstop? Your tracker’s broken.”  
“Yeah, a lot of things are broken. Wait, the tracker’s broken? Must’ve been when the Chitauri stabbed my shoulder…” she said to herself.  
“Wait, you were stabbed in the shoulder? WHERE ARE YOU? I’m coming your way!”  
“No, Tony, listen, you have to get to Vision. He’s the reason earth is being invaded at all! They want the mind stone!”  
“Hold up, Thor? Why didn’t we think of this?” Tony turned to his right, where the god of thunder was fighting beside him. He paused fighting to consider the matter. Finally he sighed, shrugged, and asked,  
“Loki’s with her, isn’t he.”  
“Yeah, he’s here, Thor.” Sophia said, “But seriously, SOMEONE GET TO VISION!”  
Thor nodded to Stark and swung his hammer up, letting himself be carried away with the momentum of the weapon.  
“You still haven’t answered my question, Sophia.” Tony said, scanning the area for her and Loki.  
“Stark! The portal’s closed!” Natasha interrupted, “Any idea what caused it?”  
“It was Loki. He went in the portal and closed it from the other side.” Sophia said, narrowly dodging the blast from a Chitauri.  
“Wait, if he closed it from the other side, then how did he get back?” Clint asked. Sophia froze. She slowly turned her head to look at Loki. He was pointedly not looking at her.  
“Loki?...”  
He turned to her.  
“Should I put you on speakerphone?”  
He sighed and pulled out the Tesseract briefly, before stabbing another alien.  
“Dear Odin, he’s got the Tesseract.” She said, too shocked to show enthusiasm.  
“Wait, wait, he has the TESSERACT!?” Tony asked, bewildered.  
“Yeah. Yeah, he has the tesseract.” She responded, calmly fighting back the army.  
“The thing we were trying to get back, and FAILED TO?”  
“Yeah. That thing.”  
“Are you just gonna stare into his eyes, or tell me how he got it!?”  
“I think the better question to ask is, ‘how is he able to hold it with his bare hands?” Sophia said.  
Thor heard that through the headset Steve had given him. He couldn’t breathe.  
Sophia looked at Loki pointedly, demanding an explanation. Loki shook his head and shrugged.  
“What does that have to do with anything?” Tony asked.  
“Do you know how the red skull died, Tony?” Sophia asked.  
“Yeah. Dad said that he was killed in the plane crash with… um. With… Cap.”  
“Hate to be the one to tell you, Stark, but that’s not correct. The Red Skull just kind of… blew… up. After he grabbed the Tesseract.” Steve recounted the story.  
“Then how is Loki able to hold it?” Natasha asked.  
“I think- hold on…” the Avengers waited patiently for Sophia while listening to guns firing and necks being snapped. Evidently she had switched to hand to hand combat, using the suit’s strength to aid her. “I think it’s because Loki’s just that powerful. I dunno if it’s his alien blood, his life as a Prince of Asgard, the magic Frigga taught him, or all three, but somehow, he has power enough to wield the Tesseract, and that kind of scares me.”  
“Well, ok. We’ll deal with that later. Right now-“ Stark was cut off for Sophia, because something hit her on the side of the head. Everything went black.  
“Tony? Jarvis!” she cried out. It was getting hard to breathe. “Loki! I can’t see anything! Get my mask off...” she began breathing heavily. She couldn’t get air. Did he even hear her? Could he get to her?  
Something hit her side, and she fell over, holding her arms up to shield herself. Again and again something hit her on different parts of her body. Then something sharp pierced her waist, in the weaker joints. She couldn’t cry out in pain, because she couldn’t make any noise. Just as she was drifting to sleep, sunlight hit her hard in the face, and air flooded her lungs. She was jerked to her feet, and something held her upright. As she came to, she realized that Loki was holding her to him with one arm, and shooting the Chitauri with the other. She tried to pull herself from his grasp. The suit was so heavy. Looking down, she saw that the arc reactor was glowing faintly.  
“Still power left…” she breathed. Staggering, she planted her feet and raised her arm. She should be able to fire without her headset.  
Sure enough, a powerful blast knocked three Chitauri warriors back. Apparently Loki’s training had helped. The success gave her strength, and she continued to fire. More and more Chitauri fell.  
Eventually, her power went out. Her chest was immediately compressed, and her limbs became too heavy to lift. She looked down just in time to see her arc reactor flicker faintly, and then go dark.  
“Loki!” She gasped, “I’m gonna suffocate if I don’t get this armor off. Help me please. Open the back, and I should be able to just step out.”  
She felt someone tugging at the back of her suit. It flew open with a crash, and then they began working on her legs. Once she was freed, she backed out of the suit. She forgot she was wearing platforms, however, and stumbled backwards. Right into Loki’s arms.  
“Thanks.” She said, stretching.  
“You’re wounded.” Loki held his hand to the cut on her hip; when he pulled it away, his fingers were red with blood.  
“Nah. Just a scratch. The armor protected me, I’m fine. Really.”  
“But now you don’t have armor.” Loki suddenly pulled her into him, and lunged forward, attacking a chitauri soldier that had snuck behind the lifeless suit.  
An overwhelming calm came over Sophia. There, in Loki’s arms, the chaos of the battle was muffled. He was protecting her; he cared so much for her. He was warm, and safe. She closed her eyes briefly and sighed deeply.  
Loki heard that sigh.  
He pulled her away, and looked at her inquisitively. The look in her eyes was dazed. She had no idea what they were talking of moments before. He smiled,  
“But now you have no armor, remember?” he gently bumped her chin upward with his knuckle. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head,  
“Right. Well,” she opened her eyes, and her fire was burning in them again, “Natasha did teach me with hand to hand combat. I’m good with a knife or a gun.”  
“Good.” Loki thrust the pistol and a dagger into her hands.  
“I was never that good with the gun, anyway.” He said while turning to stab another Chitauri.  
“Are you kidding?” She asked while mirroring his position so they were back to back again, “You made it look like an art! How in the name of Mjolnir were you able to make shooting a gun look so elegant?”  
Loki hesitated, “Ironic. Sophia, I was mirroring you.”  
“Huh?” She paused shooting her gun and turned her head so she could see Loki.  
“I emulated your stance, your calm, your control. Everything I did, I did in an imitation of you.”  
“Why?” she resumed shooting again.  
“Because you were the best at it. To succeed at it, would it not make sense to imitate the one who is best at it?”  
“You really think I was the best?”  
“It’s not a matter of opinion, darling, you simply were the best. Rhodes was perhaps more professional about it, but you looked as if you were truly enjoying yourself.  
Sophia was flattered. She felt her heart swelling with the compliment. Why did his opinion matter so much to her?  
Sophia heard the blaster fire. Everything slowed down. Seconds seemed like minutes to her. She saw the pulse aimed at Loki. She cried out, but knew that any reaction by him would be too late. With all the strength left in her, she slammed her body into his.  
She only caused him to stumble.  
She crashed into him as he looked at her, confused. She had planned on knocking him to the ground, but had forgotten that since he was a god, that would be difficult without the mini-buster. She dropped to the ground and tried to cover her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much difficult. Very battle. I struggle with action scenes, so this was difficult to write. I’m rather pleased with how it turned out, though. I couldn’t use Tony’s fighting style for Sophia or Nat’s, really. I tried to kind of combine the two. I don’t know if I succeeded at all or not, but oh well, can’t win ‘em all.  
> But right! suspense! Cliff-hanger! On to the next chapter!


	7. not one for rules

Loki cried out when the blast hit Sophia. He realized then why she had pushed him, and it enraged him. Emotion overwhelmed him. Anger, distress, desperation and anguish all flooded him. His rage activated the Tesseract. His skin turned blue, his eyes blood red. Forming his hands into fists, he fell to his knees, bending over Sophia. A large burst of power exploded from the Tesseract, and when Loki looked around him, all that was left of the army, was a blue aftermark that covered the ground. Even now it was fading…  
“Foolish girl!” Loki said, bending over Sophia, “Even if the blast had hit me, I would have been unscathed…” he said while holding back tears, “Foolish, foolish girl… this is what happens when you give your heart so readily to a monster. Don’t say I didn’t warn you…” he picked her up and held her to him, tucking her head under his chin and then looking down again, just to breathe in the scent of her hair again, rocking them back and forth, trying to keep from crying. He shook with anger. Holding her tightly, he threw his head back and screamed. He yelled to the sky, to the stars, that why would they curse her to this? To love him, and cause her own demise? It was unjust! She was innocent in every way except her fall for him, and even then, it was naivety, nothing worthy of punishment. He laid her back on the cement when the Avengers came running towards them. He sat there lifelessly as everyone crowded around her.  
Thor grabbed him roughly by the arm and led him backwards. He saw the look on Loki’s face.  
Natasha silently stood off to the side, arms crossed, eyes glazed over. She and Loki both were completely dead spirited.  
Wanda quietly cried, holding her hand over her mouth in an attempt to stifle her sobs.  
Sam took one look at the lifeless girl and turned away, gritting his teeth, clenching his fists and letting them relax again. He was restless with anger.  
Rhodey immediately began to listen for her breath, for a heartbeat, or a pulse, or anything.  
Clint knelt beside him. He was tired, but not dead. He was sorrowful, and you could see it in his face.  
Cap stood still, hands folded in front of him, as if honoring her noble sacrifice. He softly looked on her with regret. She was so young.  
Vision stood off to the side, calmly observing the scene, not without grief. He watched each of the Avengers, and their different reactions, though he couldn’t understand all of them.  
Tony shot from the sky, crashing into the cement. Without a word, he scooped up Sophia’s lifeless body and flew away again. Everyone was still for a long time.  
“Where did he take her?” Loki asked.  
“He took her to Avengers tower. They have doctors there that may be able to save her with the cell regeneration procedure. They used it on Clint a little while back.” Nat said emotionlessly. Then nobody spoke. One by one, they all drifted away, all going to Avengers tower.  
Soon, only Loki and Thor were left.  
“What happened?” Thor asked gently.  
“We were in combat. A soldier fired a pulse at me, and I didn’t see to dodge…” Loki trailed off. He grit his teeth, turning harsh, “She foolishly jumped in the way of the blast. It is her own fault she is dead.”  
“No,” Thor shook his head and chuckled grimly, “You do not feel that way at all. You know she did that because she loved you, and you feel at fault. Brother you cannot afford to think even for a second that she is dead.”  
Loki glared at Thor, “And how would you know?” he spat, “You never knew how she felt about me, or I her! You have never lost one you cared so much about that you wished you could give them the stars! You wished they would love someone nobler than you! Someone more worthy of being loved, and being emulated.”  
“Loki, I did. Ever since your death, I felt exactly that way. I had taken your company for granted, and I wished I could change so many things. For a very long time, I could not afford to accept your death, because I felt responsible.”  
Loki was quiet. He couldn’t think of anything to say to that. Eventually, Loki and Thor left the scene as well.  
At the tower, they observed Sophia silently as the doctors worked on her. Sometimes the doctors were calmly working. But then, they would become panicked, and hustle around her. Then they would become calm again, and repeat the cycle.  
After a time, Tony and Natasha exited the room. Loki and Thor stood. Thor was the first to speak,  
“She will be alright?” he asked.  
“Well, the doctors are having some, um, problems.” Tony said. Loki stiffened.  
“She’s fine, she’s alive, it’s just… well…” Tony trailed off.  
“She’s not waking up.” Natasha finished for him, “every time we take her off the machine, every time we try to wake her up, she begins to die. If they can’t get her to wake up soon, then she might, never wake up.”  
No one had the heart to say anything. The silence was deafening, and heavy.  
Once they were alone again, Loki turned to Thor,  
“Let me take her back to Asgard.”  
“No, Loki. You know we are forbidden.” Thor shook his head, as if he had known that Loki would ask to do this.  
“You wouldn’t care.” Loki pressed, “What if it were Jane in there dying? You would bring her to Asgard anyway. I know you would!”  
“I would submit to the All-Father’s decree unless a special case.”  
“Submission is not in my nature.” Loki sneered. Thor sighed,  
“What good do you think bringing her to Asgard would do?”  
“She is not waking. I know how easy it would be for our healers to coax her to wake. Brother, please. She wouldn’t have to stay for long. Odin may not even know she was there.”  
Thor looked up at the ceiling, and then held his head in his hands.  
“If it will sway you…” Loki hesitated, “Let me offer this: myself.”  
Thor looked up skeptically.  
“If Sophia is transported to Asgard, healed, and brought back to Midgard, back to her family safely. When she is safely within the arms of her family, I will give myself up with no resistance. I will willingly go back to my cell.”  
“That would have happened anyway.” Thor said. Loki gave him a questioning look but remained silent. Thor sighed again, knowing he was fighting a battle he couldn’t win.  
“First we gain her parent’s permission.”  
“Of course.” Loki nodded.  
“She will be healed, and then transported straight back.”  
“Yes.”  
“And then your cell.”  
“Once she is with her family.” Loki was firm on the point, but Thor laughed,  
“I doubt any being’s ability to keep them from her. You needlessly worry for her, brother. Others do care for her.”  
“I know.” Loki nodded solemnly, “Why do you think I was willing to sacrifice myself? I knew she would be taken care of.”  
Thor turned to follow Iron Man, and talk with him about taking Sophia to Asgard to be healed. Loki turned to Sophia again. She seemed so passive, so peaceful. The fire in her was all but extinguished. It saddened him to see her like this. So sick and defeated. He made a silent promise to her to make sure she would be healed, and returned to her family. He promised to come to her whenever she needed him. No power in all the nine realms could keep him from her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About Clint and the cell regeneration procedure… like I said, the timeline is screwy.  
> But, anyway, Loki is becoming very protective. maybe this helps him to come to the realization that he loves her as MORE than a friend? Maybe not. Maybe some things never change...  
> But you know me better than that, right? Anyone who knows me in real life would LAUGH if they heard me say that about Loki.


	8. Final thoughts

When they were ready to make the trip, Sophia was taken off the machine. Without thinking, Loki picked up Sophia and headed for the exit, Thor closely at his heels. All of the Avengers followed them outside. As soon as they were clear of the building, Thor cried out to the Heimdal to open the bifrost. Colors of every kind surrounded the three, and they were gone, and all was still.  
“Do you think we’ll see her again?” Steve asked, still looking at the sky.  
“I trust Thor.” Natasha said.  
“If we don’t, Loki’s gonna wish Odin hadn’t picked him up off that frozen rock.” Tony said grimly to the stars before turning and reentering Avengers tower.  
“I hope Sophia knows what she’s doing.” Natasha shook her head.  
“She’s unconscious, how can she even be aware of what she’s doing?” Rhodey asked not without sarcasm.  
“I mean about how she feels for Loki. That’s something she’s felt for a while, that’s something she can control. I’m just afraid she’ll hurt herself by caring so much for him.”  
“She already has. And I don’t blame her, I blame Loki.” Sam said.  
“We’ll wait for him to prove himself yet. I trust her. And what’s more, I trust Thor. I don’t think he’ll let Loki hurt her.” Clint crossed his arms and shook his head as he stared at the empty sky. Natasha chuckled,  
“Sophia’s perspective is tainted with her infatuation with Loki. She believes that he is one of the most powerful beings in the universe just because he can hold an infinity stone.”  
“Well, can Thor? Can Odin?” Clint turned to Natasha without uncrossing his arms, “What’s your point?”  
Natasha sighed, looking back at the sky, “I just hope she’s wrong.”  
This time, Clint laughed, “She may be wrong about him in that respect, but she’s gotta be right about him in some cases.” He turned to where Natasha was looking.  
“Like what?” she asked.  
“That he’s not the cold-hearted murderer we all think he is.” Clint and Natasha looked at each other, then back at the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yes, a very short chapter, but I felt like it should be separate from the last chapter. Plus, the previous chapter was getting a bit long. I try to keep chapter length in between 500 and 2000 words.  
> Lovely talk between the parents and family. Anyway. CLIFFHANGER!! Yay!  
> Next book will be coming out ASAP, because I am going on vacation in a few days, and doubt I will be able to work on this project during it. But, like I mentioned before, Finals are a train at the end of the tunnel, and they hit ya like one, too. But this is much more of a tense and unsure ending to a book, and it has actual plot, too. So, ya know, that’s good. But because of its somewhat cliffhanger, I’m gonna have much more motivation to post the last book. Actual date to expect would be within a week. I WILL get it posted by Friday. The next book is the best written, in my opinion. Much less choppy-feeling. But the plot is much more internal, about emotions and stuff, as compared to this work, which was much more action-packed (however badly said action was written), so those of you who actually read my stuff and like that emotional, gentler plot stuff have something to look forward to. It is also in the next book that Loki and Sophia fall COMPLETELY in love, romantically, and they finally realize it. Fluff is used often and quite constantly, but I draw the line at smut. I have nothing that even comes CLOSE to that and I NEVER plan to create anything that does.  
> In case, you know, you couldn’t tell that already by my writing style.  
> Anyways, thanks for reading!  
> -insaneinlv out!

**Author's Note:**

> This section is mostly going to be about the fight that takes place. I’m a bit irritated with myself, because I had planned on Sophia and Loki falling for each other much more slowly, but the thing happened when my story gained its own wings and flew away. That usually happens with my stories. They either die or gain wings and fly beyond my control. This story has flown away. But at this point, I still wouldn’t categorize Sophia and Loki as a “couple.” In fact, at this point, I would argue that they still aren’t fully aware that they love each other ROMANTICALLY. A theme in this story is the fact that love does not just have to be romantic, there is family love and friendship love, and that’s why these two throw the “L” word around like confetti. Point being: Loki and Sophia love each other, but not romantically yet. Still happens too fast in my opinion, but it’s beyond my control now.  
> And, about the whole "Mouth of Thanos" in the character tags, that's the guy who mostly talks with Loki. Thanos doesn't say a word to him, but this guy does. The slimy pale worm that Ronan puts an end to finally? you remember him? Yeah, I hated him. Didn't he have, like, seven fingers? Did he even have a name? Idk. Better watch all the movies again and find out. Anyway, dunno if he's dead or not in the timeline with this work, but when has the timeline ever made sense in this series? so I decided to include him. Made the most sense.  
> Oh, and by the way, I am NOT sorry for all of the hidden(not really) quotes. Fight me.


End file.
